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Fax explained

Sending a fax without a machine: who does the machine's work

A fax machine did four things: scan the page, dial the number, negotiate the protocol with the machine at the other end, print the receipt. None of them is still yours to do.

Short answer

At the sending end, no hardware is needed. A gateway holds the line and speaks the T.30 protocol on your behalf: you supply a PDF and a number, it places the call. At the receiving end, though, a fax machine or a receiving service is still required — a fax does not simply land in an email inbox.

What is left to do, in three steps

  1. 1

    Get a PDF

    An export from a word processor, or a photo straightened by a phone's scanning app. This is the step that replaces the machine's document feeder.

  2. 2

    Enter the recipient's number

    Their fax number, not their switchboard: the two are rarely the same, and a voice call to a fax number goes nowhere.

  3. 3

    Send, and keep the report

    The transmission report is what the machine used to print. It is the only trace of the send: kept alongside the document, it stands as prima facie evidence.

What the absence of a machine really changes

A fax machine established a direct path between two devices, with no intermediate storage. Without one, the document crosses a third party's infrastructure. That makes no difference for ordinary correspondence; it makes one for a document covered by medical or professional confidentiality, where the risk lies in the intermediate copy rather than in the transmission.

Frequently asked questions

Is a phone line still needed?
Not at your end. The analogue line was what the machine required; the gateway now holds one instead. It is still needed at the recipient's end if they receive on a conventional fax machine.
Does the recipient need a fax machine?
Yes, or a receiving service. A fax cannot reach an email address unless an operator has first assigned a receiving number and converted the incoming pages.
Which numbers can this site send to?
The form accepts French ten-digit numbers beginning 01 to 05 or 09. The international dialling codes published on this site are a reference table: they are for dialling from a machine, not through this form.

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The form fits on one page: a PDF, a recipient and a return address. No account, no card.

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